Chicago City Wire

The city council recently gave the official go-ahead for the development of a $42.5 million commercial project in the West Side’s North Lawndale area, nearby the Loop, UI and other major local points of interest.

CP Westside LLC’s proposal was accepted to allow building on 21 acres of currently vacant city-owned property. The property will include a three-building campus of 320,000 square feet for industrial and retail use at the intersection of Roosevelt Road and Kildare Avenue; plus an additional three-building center comprising 61,000 square feet for retail on Roosevelt Road.

The project is expected to generate an equal number of temporary and permanent jobs — 380 each — with construction anticipated to begin in late 2017 and occur in multiple phases.

The land itself — valued at $2.5 million — will be sold for the price of $1 million, with the balance of $1.5 million to be placed in escrow. The holdings will serve as a source for funding environmental remediation and administrative costs related to occupancy and labor needs.

The city government outlined the buildings’ specifications on its website, describing the industrial structures as pre-cast concrete with ceiling heights of up to 32 feet; while the retail buildings will be brick, masonry and glass, and landscaped to include parking.